Antoine Griezmann nets brace as Atletico punch Round of 16 ticket
Atletico Madrid produced a dominant performance at the Vicente Calderon Wednesday night to clinch their place in the knockout stages of the Champions League with a 2-0 triumph over Galatasaray.
The result meant that Benfica also qualified from Group C with the final match, Atletico's visit to Portugal, determining only who finishes top of the group. Galatasaray and Astana, both eliminated, will meet with a spot in the Europa League stake on Match Day six.
Antoine Griezmann scored both goals for Atletico, which was in total control of a game that was nowhere near as close as the scoreline suggests. With the emerging young Belgian, Yannick Carrasco, having a fine night, Gabi and Koke completed a playmaking trio that was always probing a Galatasaray defense that was gallant but short of answers.
The Turks were unable to maintain any possession against the non-stop Atletico pressure so their nominal striker, Lukas Podolski, spent a lonely night without receiving any service. Galatasaray did not put a shot on goal until the 83rd minute.
Griezmann, who had scored twice in Turkey when Atletico also won 2-0 in the first meeting between the teams, powered home an eight-yard header in the 13th minute, then added a simple close-range tally past the hour mark before being given the rest of the night off by Diego Simeone.
The opening goal came two minutes after Galatasaray might have been on top, Wesley Sneijder pushing a good scoring chance wide; that proved to be the best opportunity of the night for the visitors. Griezmann immediately tilted the balance, coming unmarked to meet a cross from Gabi on the right before giving Fernando Muslera no chance with his header.
The Turks held out to the interval, but having to defend so constantly meant that they could put no pressure on Jan Oblak at the other end and the match was virtually one-way traffic.
The second half began the same way the first ended, with Atletico attacking on all burners. Koke's first-timer to a cross from the right brought an excellent one-handed save from Muslera but the Turks were not finding any way to relieve the pressure.
That constant attacking tempo finally paid off with Griezmann's second, a tap-in from close range in the 65th minute. Gabi once again provided the pass, stepping past a defender on the right to find the scorer, who just managed to stay onside as the ball came over.
Muslera kept the final score from being worse with some very good reaction saves, one denying Luciano Vietto, Griezmann's replacement, point-blank before a diving stop beat Fernando Torres at the right-hand post.
